Mike Macdonald's Seahawks Assessment Proves Respect for Patriots, or Denial of What's Wrong

After the Seahawks knocked off the Patriots 13-10 in a game that came down to the last possession, Macdonald was positive about how his team played.

Almost exclusively positive. Particularly about every aspect of the offense in light of Sam Darnold's hip injury during the very first drive of the season.

“We have an expectation of how we want to play, and I thought you saw a lot of that last night,” Macdonald said postgame. “I know we didn’t light the scoreboard up, but our offensive line had a really good game. They played physical. I thought the tight ends played physical. Receivers were decisive. We made some big plays when we needed (them).

“I’m excited about our run game. Our runners were decisive and got square and got the ball moving forward. We eliminated some negative runs, which is always a positive. We got off to a good start, and I expect us to get even better.”

Macdonald's defense's results spoke for itself.

Seattle picked off Drake Maye on three straight drives to end the game, including a game-sealing interception in the end zone. Speaking about the defense at all would have meant Macdonald talking about Maye bailing his team out. Macdonald isn't a problematic man in that sense.

Still, the offensive optimism may be in denial of the real problem.

The Patriots' Defense is Elite, But...

New England is the kind of defense that teams should be happy about putting 13 points on during a win.

The Patriots ranked in the top four in every raw major points and yardage allowed metric during the 2025 season.

With that said, there were key trench losses in the offseason for New England, including nose tackle Khyiris Tonga and SAM/RUSH K'Lavon Chaisson. Even still, right tackle Abraham Lucas was the only Seahawks offensive lineman to grade above a 65 on PFF's scale.

While he graded out well -- 84.1 overall and 82.5 as a passer -- the eye test was not an A+ for fill-in quarterback Drew Lock by any stretch. Even if Macdonald appreciated how prepared he was for the moment.

Seahawks Have Limited Ceiling Until Sam Darnold is Healthy

A hip injury for a quarterback is tricky. We don't know how Darnold will recover this season or how quickly.

In any game Lock is in the lineup, the defense will have to come up with similarly big performances. They have Maye figured out, but dealing with high-powered NFC West offenses will be tough if Lock can't give the team more than one offensive touchdown, most of which was on Jaxon Smith-Njigba gaining most of the 45 yards on his touchdown catch after the ball was in his hands.

Lock's record as a starter is 10-18, and most of his biggest career games came late in the season or during his first two seasons. At this stage, he's settled in as a backup.

Coming off a Super Bowl win, riding Lock for any significant amount of time probably means a major step down, if not a step out of the playoffs altogether. JSN may be able to buoy him enough to get there.

Seattle needs Darnold back to win anything of significance, though. It's best Macdonald didn't address that after the high of a thrilling last-second win, but no one would blame him if that's what he also felt, deep down.

Darnold is out Week 2, but hasn't been written off for Week 3. We'll see if Darnold can make a swift return and erase any anxiety about the franchise relying on Lock.

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